Wireless communication networks typically include wireless communication devices which, via a wireless communication system, communicate with further communication networks and equipment. The wireless communication system typically includes access nodes and associated equipment to route user communications over wireless links from the wireless communication devices to further communication networks, equipment, and destinations.
In addition to user communications, the wireless communication devices are typically configured to receive overhead information via overhead messaging cycles carried over control channels in the wireless links. The overhead information is typically transferred in several overhead message types which carry designated overhead information. However, when many wireless communication devices are communicating with an access node, the messages can consume limited resources of the wireless links, and performance of communications transferred to and from the wireless communication devices can suffer. Moreover, when using the various overhead message types, overhead information may consume a larger portion of the available resources than necessary to transfer the overhead information.